One of my more powerful centerfire rifles is a
Remington Model 740 Woodsmaster, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield cartridge. Although
not the most accurate I own, it is accurate enough and serves its intended purpose well.

I went to a gun show in
Columbia, SC with my granddad in January of 2007. We were looking around for a
suitable deer rifle at an even more suitable price, haven decided to snatch it
if the opportunity arouse. After walking around this rather large show for
upwards of an hour, we came to a table where a dealer was selling large numbers
of pump and semi-automatic Remington rifles. Two main rifles caught my eye, a
Remington Model 760 pump in .270 Win. and a Remington Model 740 autoloader in
.30-06, complete with scope! Of course, the scope was a Bushnell (Pre Banner)
4x and the mount was a Weaver, but we figured it would do for deer hunting in
the pine forests of central SC, where shots are usually less than 100 yards.
The asking price was the same for both rifles; $275.

The 760 would require
scoping, another $100 at least (probably $200 to do it right). The 740 was gas
operated, so it might not kick too hard. We decided to buy the Model 740 and I
stood guard to make sure that nobody else bought it while granddad went home to
get a checkbook. After a short delay, he returned. I haggled the price down to
around $230. With the Form 4473 filled out, we were the proud owners of a
Remington 740 Woodsmaster in .30-06!

At another table, a man was
selling Federal Power-Shok rifle cartridges. Among them, of course, was .30-06
Springfield. I, knowing a little about rifles, figured that a heavier bullet
moving a little slower might not damage as much meat as a lighter one moving
faster. Meat damage is a big concern on a small SC whitetail, where the average
doe might run 90 pounds and the average buck about 140. We purchased two boxes
of 180 grain soft point bullets, for all of $10 a box. (I wish I could by them
for that now, the last time I checked they are up to at least $14/box).

The next day, after spending
the morning acquiring a sling and swivels, as well as a slip on recoil pad at the
local Sportsmanís Warehouse, we took our used Model 742 to the rifle range in
Newberry, SC to shoot it. Initial results at 100 yards were disappointing. The
target was completely untouched after the first five shots. Undaunted, we
brought the target in to 25 yards and let a shot go right at the middle bull.
At least we were on paper this time. A few adjustments to the battered 4x scope
and I took the target back out to 100 yards to do a little shooting. I had the
groups centered 3" above the bull, but to call the bullet holes
"groups" is a stretch. More like patterns, actually. I finally got
three (lucky!) shots to form a sort of group, so we called it good and went home.

The new rifle's inaccuracy bothered
me. It seemed to be a $250 bullet hose, with a bullet hitting the target simply
because of good luck. As I went home to Asheville, the gun remained in Columbia
with my granddad, who didnít take it out of the case until I returned for
spring break to work a little and do some shooting. Remembering the poor
accuracy we had experienced before, we stopped and bought a Hoppe's Boresnake
on the way up to the range.

When we arrived, I snaked the
weapon and then loaded it and fired three rounds downrange. Miraculously, the
three shots landed in a group, although it was about six inches across! I ran
the snake through the bore a few more times and finally got the groups down to
around four inches. It was much improved and good enough, I decided, with which to hunt.

My granddad shot a deer with
it that fall, a shot right to the spine. He was aiming for the heart/lung area
and missed by about 9", but hey, whatever works! Anyway, he hunted with it
many times that winter, but never saw another deer. The rifle had proved its
worth, however, and despite its poor accuracy, it would do for the menial task
of downing whitetail deer at ranges often not exceeding 35 yards.

When my granddad died this past
July, he left the rifle to me. I brought it home and the first thing I did was
get rid of the scope, mount and rings. I contacted Natchez Shooters Supply and
had them send me a refurbished Nikon Buckmaster 3-9x40mm scope, some Weaver
rings, and a new Weaver scope base for a total of about $160. The scope itself
was $140 and it's the same model that is on my Ruger .243. I also contacted
Cheaper Than Dirt and had them send me a Triple K replacement magazine.
Although I still had the original, I decided that for $20 I might try a 10
round magazine.

I mounted the scope in the
new rings and waited until the first weekend in August to sight it in for the
August 15 opener of the SC rifle season. Before my trip to the range, I ran
plenty (almost 4 oz.) of Montana X-Treme copper solvent through the barrel to
get all the fouling out. Although I had used the Boresnake previously, it took
me well over 100 patches, three days and plenty of soak time to remove the copper.
Finally, I got it clean.

This trip to the range proved
a little more fruitful. I shot several groups with the rifle that ran around
three inches, with one measuring just under two inches. Not having a way to
bore-sight the scope, I shot almost an entire box of cartridges to get it on
the paper. Once that was done, I zeroed it right where I wanted and I called it
good enough to hunt. I did not get a chance to try the rifle with the new
magazine, but vowed to do so in the future.

On April 15, 2009, I skipped
going to the "tea party" at the town hall and went shooting instead.
The wind was blowing over 30 mph when I got to the range, which definitely did
not help my shooting.

I decided to try out that new magazine. I loaded it fully
and then began to blast away at the target 100 yards distant. I experienced two
jams in only 10 rounds. One was the fault of the gun/ammunition; one was
definitely the fault of the magazine. The first, on round two, was the magazine
jam. The bolt came back and rammed the cartridge precisely into the front of
the magazine, smashing the exposed lead tip. I pulled the bolt back, then
pressed the magazine release and yanked the magazine out. I positioned the
round fully rearward in the magazine (I may have failed to do this the first
time, which may have caused the jam.) I re-inserted the magazine, and pulled
the bolt back. When it slammed forward, the deformed cartridge was placed right
in the chamber, where it should have been the first time. The second jam was a
stovepipe, caused by a failure to eject. The round in the magazine was already
out, about halfway into the chamber, but the empty case was left sticking out
of the ejection port.

Accuracy was a little lacking, although I had just
cleaned the barrel. I suppose I will have to devote my next three days removing
all the copper fouling to get it shooting again. 4-1/8" groups will work
for the kind of hunting I do, but I would like to see the gun do better.

Overall, the Model 740 is not
a bad choice for those who hunt primarily in heavily wooded areas. Accuracy is
the only consistent problem Iíve had with this rifle, although I have neglected
to try other loads. I refuse to spend more than $20 for a box of rifle
cartridges and I think $14 is quite enough as it is. With accuracy the way it
is now, itís a 200 yard deer rifle, if you have a steady rest. If not, it
is good to about 100 yards, which covers everything I normally do. I would like
to get it shooting better, so that Iím prepared in the event a 10-point buck
steps into the open at 300 yards!